Swaminarayan School Trustees Promise to Consider Extending Notice Period for Pupils

LONDON, U.K., July 4, 2018 (Asian Voice): The Swaminarayan School in Brent has decided to extend its notice period before it closes the doors to students, after considering the concerns of parents and students. The school sent a letter to all parents on 25 June 2018, explaining the closure is related to lack of funding, recruitment of right staff and falling number of students. However, they have now decided to keep both schools fully open for another year, until July 2020, giving everyone in the Prep School and Senior School two full years to find suitable places for their children for the academic year beginning in September 2020. If circumstances permit, the trust is also planning to keep the Prep School running for a third year, if feasible, provided there are sufficient pupil numbers.

Jitu Patel, Chairman of Akshar Educational Trust told Asian Voice exclusively, “Over the past few years, student numbers have been falling – from a peak of 515 in 2012 to 377 expected in September 2018. This downward trend is expected to continue. We recognize that the location of the School is not ideal since the catchment area of the majority of its students is some distance away.” The parent body strongly feels that by working together, the school can still continue, but for this to happen, the trustees and governors need to start an open dialogue with parents, which has not been happening over the years. Parents have also said that they are more than happy to consider taking over the running of the school by appointing new teams who will give due consideration to the communities and families that are being disrupted by this announcement, but ideally prefer working with the existing trustees and governors to resolve the concerns.